"I mean, the Vessel just lit up for you the moment you touched it," Aisha said, grabbing her plate full of food. She moved her gaze to Victoria, who was standing right next to Musa, listening to Aisha's words carefully. "And you... you lifted it up without any struggle, covering it in some kind of red energy."

Victoria sighed and grabbed her plate, heading to Terra and Bloom who were sitting alone. "Yeah, that's how my magic works basically." She stated after they sat down.

"And my magic is pretty much always on," Musa explained to Aisha, her eyes turning purple as she moved her gaze to a boy who was sitting at the end of the table. "That kid? Scared and stressed, like a bunny when hawks circle."

"You get headaches when you're in a crowded space," The brunette girl spoke as she read Musa's mind. So, that's why she's always wearing her headphones. "And you hate parties."

Musa nodded at her friend's words, grabbing a fork and starting to eat up her food. The ginger gulped, suddenly feeling worried. Victoria read from her mind that Bloom lost Stella's ring and now she's in trouble. The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as to why would Stella give Bloom her ring in the first place.

"So, here's what we should do," Aisha started, gaining everyone's attention at the table. "Maybe we can make a list of emotional triggers-"

"Aisha, um, I appreciate what you're doing, but I can figure this out on my own." Bloom replied, sending her an awkward smile.

Victoria knew, the ginger wouldn't figure it out on her own, but she decided to not to interfere, knowing this could end up tragically.

The black-haired girl squinted her eyes at the ginger. "I'm sure. I just think you might be in your head about the whole changeling stuff and overthinking." Aisha said, trying to support Bloom.

"Are you sure she's a changeling?" Victoria asked, not believing her friend's words.

Bloom nodded, confirming Aisha's words. "Yep, and now everyone knows." The girl said, nodding.

"Is that why you freaked out at the Vessel? That makes more sense and that's going to be the easiest assignment we'll have," Terra rambled on with shock written on her face as Victoria motioned for the earth fairy to stop. "And now I'm making it worse..."

"I'm sure, Bloom will figure it out," Victoria spoke, trying to release the tension between them. She raised her eyes, just to see her blonde roommate heading to their table with Sky. "Princess is coming." She alerted the girls, making Aisha roll her eyes.

As soon as she reached the table, she slammed a map down on the piece of wood, looking at Bloom with sour look. Sky was just standing beside her awkwardly, from time to time glancing at the blonde girl.

Stella cleared her throat, glaring at the ginger. "So we have a plan to get my ring back,"

The brunette girl tilted her head, clicking her tongue. "I'm sorry... we? You lost your ring, Stella." Victoria commented, pointing out facts. She knew, Bloom lost the blonde girl's ring, but she gave it to her in the first place.

"Yes, we," The girl said and placed her hand on Sky's shoulder, clearly making him feel uncomfortable. "Sky, where do you think they're keeping it again?"

"Uh, there's only so many buildings outside the Barrier they can secure a creature like that," The boy explained, motioning towards the map. "There's the barn and the mill."

Terra spoke up, smiling at Stella. "Oh, the barn would be my bet. My dad fortified the beams, because he was chaining this wounded horse-" She pointed her finger at the map.

"So we just have to sneak in there and get my ring,"

The brunette girl snickered and raised hey eyebrows, not believing what Stella had just said. "Sounds more like a 'you' deal." She commented, grinning.

"Except I didn't lose it." Stella tried to reason.

"When do we go?" Bloom suddenly interrupted the argument between the girls. Victoria turned her head around sharply to face her friend, with a shock on her face.

"Gonna be blunt. You have zero control over your magic. That is, if you manage to channel it, bad idea." The black-haired girl said, closing her eyes and scrunching her nose.

Bloom shook her head, biting her lips. She caught Victoria's gaze, who was tilting her head in anticipation. "Victoria will go with me, she'll help me." The ginger persisted.

"I think everyone is making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be," Stella started, making everyone's head turn to look at her. "The burned one is locked up, right?"

"Oh, and subdued. I'm pretty sure my dad is distilling this oil that'll subdue it, it's called Zanbaq," Terra confirmed Stella's words.

Victoria didn't quite understand the earth fairy. Every time Stella has said something mean to her that had hurt her, she has never replied to her in the same mean way. Terra was just too nice for everyone.

"Thank you, Terra, for being so helpful."

The brunette girl sent her a fake smile, before standing up and packing up her things. She grabbed her phone, before shoving it into her back pocket. "Let me know when you want to do it," Victoria spoke, before turning around and walking away from the school's cafeteria.

She was supposed to meet with her sister in the garden, but as soon as she placed her foot on the grass, she heard her name being called. Victoria sighed, before sitting down on the ground and pulling out her phone.

"Victoria!" A manly voice called out for the second time, making Victoria finally turn around her head. "Why did you leave?" Sky asked as soon as he reached her.

The girl clicked her tongue, frowning. "I just needed some fresh air," She explained, trying not to get into more details.

Sky bobbed his head. "Look, I'm sorry about Stella," He started. "She can get possessive, sometimes."

Victoria chuckled, her mind showing a flashback from yesterday's party. "Yeah, I noticed."

Sky stared at his hands, feeling ashamed by Stella's actions. It wasn't his fault, his ex-girlfriend was a psycho, but still, he felt guilty about it. As soon as Victoria read his mind, she felt bad for the boy. He and Stella weren't together, but the girl acted like she owned him.

Victoria grabbed Sky's hands and squeezed them in a reassuring manner. The blonde sent her a smile, showing he was thankful for her actions. The girl always wanted to lift up the mood whenever someone was feeling down. And that was one of her bad habits - never putting herself first.

"So... I hadn't talked to Stella in months. I mean, yeah, we dated last year, but... we had a sort of rough breakup, and I..." Sky sighed, raising his hand and running it through his hair. "And I just don't want you to thinks I'm that guy." He frowned.

"Sky, your situation with Stella seems... complicated and I can see by your face that you're tired of the constant getting back and breaking up," She informed him, with her intentions clear. The girl wanted to help him as much as she could. "You need to sort this out with Stella, not me, you."

"Thank you, for listening to me,"

a/n

shitty chapter, but i promise y'all...
I'll develop Danielle's and Victoria's character soon + I'll try to add more sky x vic scenes

<3